Help - How do I know if CRNA is right for me?

MB37 · Nov 18, 2009

While in NS, why don't you get a job as a nurse tech? It pays better than volunteering, and you get to actually touch patients. Our volunteers (even a few who have RN licenses) aren't allowed to do anything that involves patient care. In my area you can work as a tech after completing Fundamentals (or whatever your first clinical semester is called), and you don't need to take a CNA course. You can try to work as a tech in an ICU, learning about what ICU nurses do. An ER would also provide valuable experience. I'm not sure if PACUs have techs - it might vary by hospital - and I think tech positions in the OR at my hospital require special training (scrub tech, anesthesia tech). You could also try for a unit coordinator job.

To find out what CRNAs do, the best thing to do is to shadow one. I did that yesterday, and loved my experience. My facility only allows employees to shadow, most in my area are the same. Even if you're only employed as a tech, you can just contact the anesthesia office and ask about setting up a shadow experience. Or, wait until you graduate and get a nursing job, then do the same. The aana website (aana.org) has good basic information about the career. Talk to your clinical instructor too - I did, while I was in school, and I got to spend two days in the OR (technically I was paired with the circulator, but at least I got to see some of what the CRNA or MDA did), and I spent all of med surg 2 as well as my preceptorship in critical care.

Good luck!

healthcare4life · Nov 22, 2009

Thank you! I learned something new today..

as far as becoming an NT, is the job position listed specifically as "Nurse Tech Position" in most hospitals? Or is that term worded differently from hospital to hospital?

What's the avrg hours/week that NTs usually work? Are they allowed to work.. I don't know, let's say 10 hours per week? I don't want the job to consume most of my study time while I'm in school.

Thanks again!

MB37 · Nov 23, 2009

It could be listed as nurse tech, nurse intern/extern, patient care tech, or nursing assistant. You probably cannot apply for CNA positions, as you are not certified. Your state may allow you to sit for the ceritfication exam without going through class, however. Some hospitals have a separate job description for nursing students, where you can do a little more than an average tech - no med passing, of course, but you can do skills that you've been checked off on in clinical (foleys, NG tubes, whatever) that may fall outside the scope of practice of a CNA/PCT. Call (or better yet, stop by) HR at a couple of hospitals and see what's available for students. Many positions are part time/PRN, because many nurse techs are students and can't work much. Some of my classmates had to work a minimum of 12 hours every 2 weeks, while others worked full or part time with a more set schedule. Tech shifts, at least where I work, aren't always 12 hours either. The hospitals don't mind, because they get you in the door and can evaluate your potential as an employee before you graduate, and they don't have to pay you benefits. If you have a good work record, you'll often be given preference in hiring once you graduate - important in today's economy.